Bar & Burger Opening on Atlantic Avenue

Atlantic Avenue is undergoing a bit of gentrification … again. Not only is relative newcomer Barneys Co-Op lurking across from old-school Middle Eastern standbys Damascus and Sahadi’s, but a new bar and burger restaurant is slated to open at 282 Atlantic this March—just across the road from the Brooklyn Detention Complex and adjacent to H.P. Mavica Bail Bond, also known as “The Bail Lady.”

Called Bar & Burger, the long-lifeless location has announced via a flashy sign that it will open next month. There’s no place (that we know of) to get a great burger right around that corner, so it might be a welcome addition for cops and crooks alike.

That said, given how long the joint has been shuttered, it remains to be seen if “March 2011” is a firm opening date. And we have no idea who’s running the place: A sign says “Lions 95” is the owner. Tips, hounds?

A few blocks toward the river at 127 Atlantic Avenue, Colonie has finally opened. It’s the first Brooklyn restaurant we know to raise much of its starter capital via Kickstarter—they aimed for $10,000 and ended up with nearly $16K by promising glasses of bubbly and tasting dinners to donors. According to photos snapped by Brooklyn Heights Blog, it looks to be a pretty little wine bar with potentially serious food. The Times has the menu and a bit of background info, including the fact that the chef is no amateur: He previously cooked at Mas (Farmhouse) in Manhattan. Small plates include octopus with fennel and apple, and large ones rabbit lasagne with sun-dried tomatoes and Swiss chard. Has anyone ventured in? We want to hear more about the eats!